Foreword: the story is the thing /by Mark Berlin -- The musical vanity boxes -- Sometimes in summer -- Andado: A Gothic Romance -- Dust to dust -- Itinerary -- Lead Street, Albuquerque -- Noël. Texas. 1956 -- The adobe house with a tin roof -- A foggy day -- Cherry blossom time -- Evening in Paradise -- La Barca de la Ilusion -- My life is an open book -- The wives -- Noël, 1974 -- The pony bar, Oakland -- Daughters -- Rainy day -- Our brother's keeper -- Lost in the Louvre -- Sombra -- Luna nueva -- A note on Lucia Berlin.